A traditional view of short-term working memory (STM) is that task-relevant information is maintained 'online' in persistent spiking activity. However, recent experimental and modeling studies have begun to question this long-held belief. In this review, we discuss new evidence demonstrating that information can be 'silently' maintained via short-term synaptic plasticity (STSP) without the need for persistent activity. We discuss how the neural mechanisms underlying STM are inextricably linked with the cognitive demands of the task, such that the passive maintenance and the active manipulation of information are subserved differently in the brain. Together, these recent findings point towards a more nuanced view of STM in which multiple substrates work in concert to support our ability to temporarily maintain and manipulate information.

中文翻译：

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重新评估持续性神经活动在短期记忆中的作用

短期工作记忆 (STM) 的传统观点是，与任务相关的信息在持续的尖峰活动中保持“在线”。然而，最近的实验和建模研究开始质疑这种长期存在的信念。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了新的证据，这些证据表明信息可以通过短期突触可塑性 (STSP)“默默地”保持，而无需持续活动。我们讨论了 STM 背后的神经机制如何与任务的认知需求密不可分，从而使被动维护和主动操纵信息在大脑中得到不同的支持。一起，